ATP vs 737 Tpye
 

Go for it!

If you have any GI Bill left, you can get the ATP and 737 type for around $3000 to $4000, IIRC. I say do it, can't hurt.

ATP. CFI, CFII and MEI are bonus if you don't already have them via MIL COMP.

ATP for sure. Many majors (including all the highest paid) require it, and all prefer it.

I would only do the 73 type if you want to work for SWA, and meet their minimums. Use the GI Bill to reduce the cost.


Also be aware of this...a 737 type on your pilot certificate with no operational experience sends a very clear message in the airline world:

"SWA is my number one job choice. I'm only talking to your because SWA either hasn't called yet or has already rejected me."

This may reduce your odds a little with other airlines, they will assume that you will leave for SWA as soon as they call you.

I highly doubt getting a Boeing 737 type will "reduce your odds" of employment! Compared to what? An ATP rating in a Mickey Mouse Piper Something at a weekend diploma mill?

Won't all 121 carriers require an ATP starting 2012?

If you explained that you had to do the ATP anyway, and just chose the 73 you would probably be OK. But somebody who already has an ATP and acquires a 73 type is assumed to prefer SWA.

Agreed. Also a type with no time-in-type is worthless to all but SWA. Get the ATP, avoid "buy your job" airlines like SWA.

For a guy with a civilian airline background maybe but for a single pilot fighter guy, getting a type rating in a Boeing 737 versus a recip twin has numerous advantages.

1. Exposure to a civilian transport category training program.
2. Working with a co-pilot and refining CRM skills.
3. First real FAA checkride.
4. Brushing up on civilian regs.
5. Learning an aircraft that is relevant to airline operations.

Plus, its only a few thousand dollars more investment and the GI bill should cover some of it while the rest can be written off on your taxes. I've flown with 100s of guys who went through the weekend ATP program and didn't learn jack nor prepare them one iota for an airline job! If I were looking at a resume and the person had the initiative to get an initial ATP in a 737, all things being equal, I would hire him/her over someone who got it in a light recip twin. Why? They've demonstrated they can pass an airline training program to Captain standards.

As far as SWA goes, I thought they didn't require a type rating to get an interview anyway? None of the airlines are immune from pilots changing airlines and would be naive to think that pilots that don't have B737 on their license are there to stay!

Ultimately, its a personal choice and the pros and cons need to be weighed. Hence, this productive dialogue.

Since you still have "a few years" left, I would probably just wait a year or two. I have heard rumors that SWA won't even be requiring a type rating for employment in the future, since they have acquired another aircraft type with the merger with AirTran. I personally wouldn't waste the money on a 737 type, but that's just me.

I appreciate all the input. I do have a CFI, CFII and MEI and have about 1000 hours doing just that. I don’t even know in 2 years from now where I’ll be applying to or who will be hiring. I’m just trying to figure out if the extra $5000 would be worth the investment to get some more experience. I don’t necessarily have an extra $5000 to through around but I’d find it if the 737 type would help me get accustomed to flying large jets. All good points. Thanks for the help

I would do both.. together, if you can swing the finances. If not, then just knock out the atp and be done with it.

Go get your type in the 73. Take your ATP written before you go. Show the examiner the test and you will knock out both with the 73 checkride.

That's the way I got my 737 and ATP rating.

How would they ever know if someone had their ATP, then later got the 737 type?

I went with Aeroservice in Miami. ATP and 737 type for $1,800 with GI Bill. $4,500 without.

If you has 1000 hours TPIC at a regional before you got the 737 type, that might be a hint. Of course you could simply lie about when you got the type, maybe white-out the dates on your training record.

If you did it all at once, I would simply tell them that. But a 73 type without experience will probably lead to a discussion about your SWA aspirations...have a reasonable song and dance ready.

By the dates on the application?

A SW probie makes 25 dollars more an hour than a CAL probie. Plus don't CAL guys go without health bennies for the first six months? Do the math. Who's really buying their job? :rolleyes:

I guess that since I've never filled out an airline application, I wasn't aware that they made you list the dates on which you were awarded the different certificates and types.

Many don't. Can't be sure about all of them.

The three airlines I've been hired by didn't and the others I applied to didn't. Just ATP, yes or no and aircraft flown. No dates.

The actual ATP doesn't even list dates of type ratings. Just a date the current one you have was issued. I got my original in 1997 but my current one has a 2008 date (I think that might have been when we had to do the english proficient thing, but I can't remember for sure).

Bottom line is no one is going to care. Matching ATP dates with type rating dates by digging through logbooks, other airline training records, etc. is minutia. They can see from your employment history what your story is. It ain't rocket science.

Wayyy too much is being read into getting a 737 type rating, IMO. I know plenty of guys who got hired at Fedex, AA, UAL, Delta, UPS, etc. with 737 types. You get out of the military, you fill the ATP square, get a 737 type if you have the cash and shotgun the resumes to whoever is hiring. Airlines all know this and they'll know you're lying if you tell them you haven't applied to other carriers. They'll probably ding you for poor judgment if you didn't get apps in with everyone who is hiring. It shows a commitment to flying and the career.

The folks you're sitting across the interview table from are always your first choice - no doubt ;)- those other apps are just in case it doesn't work out with them so you can get some more experience and re-apply at the earliest opportunity. :D

Agree 100%.

I did my 737 type with FTI (Flight Training Int'l). The company is based in Denver but they have facilities all over the country. I did mine in Atlanta.

C9

You're right this is a very minor point, I only brought it up so that someone wouldn't be blind-sided at an interview if someone asked if SWA was their first choice. For a military guy it is perfectly reasonable to do the ATP in a 73. My original suggestion was just to save the coin unless you want to work for SWA.

Although a civilian-track pilot would give off major LUV vibes if he has a 73 type but no work history to explain it. I know, and others know, guys who have had their nads busted over that issue. Of course they deserved it...why do you think they had the type in the first place? :rolleyes:

If the extra money isn't an issue get the 73 type because if you don't have civilian part 25 aircraft experience its invaluable.

What is hilarious, but upon reflection is actually sad, is that "other airlines than SWA" may feel defensive or wary of you if you show-up for a interview with a 737 type. What that says about them is them thinking "we know SWA is better a place to be a professional passenger airline pilot". And going by their reasoning they are so, um, ashamed, they probably won't hire you. Just one of the hundreds of fabulous nuggets of commercial aviation rationality you're going to experience once you're out of the military.

Vifa, [....], I flew with you last week, there are plenty of folks right where you're at that have been in your shoes and can give plenty of advice that Rickair knows nothing about...

Wheels

Good point. I should probably change my name on this thing. :eek:

I thought they were "hogs" :eek:

No, some A-10 pilots are jerks, while the planes they fly are hogs.

Vifa, I know where you're coming from, I got out after 10 years, the last 7 overseas and thought I would get picked up by a major airline right out of the gate. 6 months later and after dozens of applications sent, I went to a national pilot job fair where I learned A LOT about the airlines I didn't know.

Number one, it's WHO you know, not WHAT you know, and like a few others have said, unless you know that with internal recs you're going to get a SWA interview, you may not want to get a 73 type. I even met guys at the job fair that told me Delta was going to toss my resume in the can because I wrote "Delta Airlines" instead of "Delta Airline." If you can fly a military plane, you'll be ok in the interview. My best advice to you is to take advantage of what the military can provide to you. Go to Advanced Instrument School, become an instructor, and take the MilComp Flight Instructor Test from the FAA which will give you your CFI. Good luck!